Saturday, October 18, 2008

M*I*S*H*M*U*S*H

Once upon a time, quite a long time ago, between 1972 - 1983 to be exact, there lived a show on TV called M*A*S*H. You probably were not even born yet or were in diapers at the most, so maybe you don't remember ever watching that. I was way out of diapers then but I don't remember watching a single episode either as my beloved shows consisted of Marine Boy and My Favorite Martian only. However, I do remember the name, M*A*S*H, so catchy with all those asterisks and caps, don't you think?

M*A*S*H stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (the asterisks don't mean a thing and were just added for drama) and this weekly sitcom revolved around the lives of medical personnel assigned to a military unit in South Korea during the Korean war.

And then...

Once upon a time, not so long ago, last month in fact, I had this curious experience. Upon watching the play Tuesdays with Morrie, I did not shed a single tear, whereas most of those I
talked to said they were so touched by the play, or by the book, that they cried buckets or at least enough to soak one or two sheets of Kleenex.

And I thought, is something wrong with me? Has some unnamed door inside been shut and the key thrown away? Why was I unmoved by that supposedly moving story? Wasn't I the girl who would tear up at the slightest hint of mush?

And then...

Once upon a day, Doc Remo sends an email. I will be hosting The Blog Rounds this October! And so it came to be, that I thought to ask the other MD webloggers, what are their experiences with this phenomenon of tears.

So to all TBR participants, the topic for the next virtual rounds is all about about stuff that make you cry. Huhuhu. It's kind of a wide-narrow topic and here are some guide questions. You can choose any or a combination of any of the following trigger questions. All these questions are followed by "Please elaborate."

* What makes you cry? (person, place or thing?)

* What situations make you cry? Or want to cry? And why?

* Is it macho for grown men to cry? Do you think men who cry are sissies?

* When was the last time you had a good cry?

* Are you one of those people who do not or cannot cry?

* What do you think of people who cry in public?

* Do you remember a scene or situation involving another person that made you cry?

* Do you remember a scene or situation involving yourself that made you cry? Or made somebody else cry?

* Should doctors cry? Should doctors let patients see them crying?

* Do movies make you cry? Which movies/tv shows/books/ stories made you cry buckets? And why?

* How do you handle crying children? Crying adults?

* What kinds of food make you cry?

* What can you say about sadness without tears? Is it possible to be very sad or mad and not be teary?

* If you can think of anymore topics involving crying, that would be fine, too.

In short, any essay, short story, poem, song, drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, any art form involving tears or teardrops are welcome. The more assorted the submissions the merrier. Hope you still remember the guidelines!

To the MDs who have not yet signed up with our yahoo groups website, please click here.

12 comments:

Bonedoc said...

Hahaha!

San pala napunta ta to before? Kaya ako hanap ng hanap ng "Call for articles" sa blog mo di ko nahanap...

Thanks for Hosting Doc Ness!

Martin D. Bautista, M.D. said...

Kailan ang huling araw Doc Ness?

ness said...

doc martin,

take your time lang. i'm collating the submitted entries na and will just add your entry when you're finished.

thanks, doc.

Geena said...

Mmmm. Let me see...All of us cried when we were brought into this world, some automatically, others only after a little spanking. I guess, it is not easy to be pulled out forcibly from the comfortable womb! I think all of us cried when our diapers were wet and when our milk did not come on time, and when we have bodily aches like gas pains or immunization shots! But somehow while growing up, our reasons for crying became more emotional than physical. We cry when we dont get what we want, we cry when we are humiliated, we cry when we are rejected, we cry because the hero in the movie died! I guess when we started creating our identities, anything that's not pleasing to our identities or perceived as threat to our egos can make us cry! Given that,it is actually us who created more reasons to be hurt... more reasons to cry! The human body is suppose to feel pain only when the pain receptors are stimulated but events that are emotionally "challenging" are not suppose to stimulate the pain receptors, yet we hurt! And thus we cry! Tsk tsk

x said...

hey,
long time. i remember watching all the antique tv shows you mentioned. my favorite martian was in the 50's and 60's, MASH was in the 60's and 70's and marine boy was in the 70's. both MASH and my favorite martian had reruns even up to the late 70's... that was when i was able to watch those shows... ahehe
there was another tv series about the time MASH and my favorite martian was aired which recently became a movie, a remake of course, GET SMART. not to mention MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. the latter in the late 70's and early 80's.

x said...

hmmm, cry?
dont know really been a long long time since i cried. even when my father died i didnt cry. i was sad and hurt but did not cry, cant explain why either.

ness said...

Dr. X!

Hey, why don't you join The Blog Rounds crying edition? I know you have something to share about this crying or not crying thing.

You have a private weblog naman, di ba. Go write na!

Dr. Emer said...

Thanks for the heads-up, Doc Ness!

I'm a bit off-sync with blogging lately due to toxic cases, but I'll try my best to come up with something. I'll just give you the link when I'm finished.

'Interesting choice of topic. =)

docemdy said...

Thanks for the invite and sorry for the late entry.

P.S. I can't access Yahoo groups, only saw the announcement/call for articles last Sat.

ness said...

Hi Doc Em Dy,
Thank you very much for your entry!

To join our yahoo groups:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/theblogrounds/

On the left upper corner, beside the health groups are these words:

"Sign in, New user. Sign up."

Just click on them and Doc Remo will approve your membership.

I'm making a prose version of the roundup pa. Isasali ko ang entry mo doon plus other entries from other MD webloggers, as some have signified their intention to send entries too. Like Doc Emer and Doc Martin! Waiting lang ako...

Thanks again!

MerryCherry said...

Galing Doc nung ginawa mo, whatever you call it. Hehe.

ness said...

hi merry cherry,

it's called hypertext poetry. post-modern baga. though some would argue that it's hypertextual alright but not really poetry.

well... one man's poetry may be someone else's trash. and vice versa. ;p